Dive at The Steps, Kurnell, NSW on Sunday 17 May 2015

Dive Details

Location

Date

Sunday 17 May 2015

Time

8:38am - 9:55am

Details

I had fairly low expectations for the dive today. It had been rough for the last few days and the forecast was for 1.5 to 2 metre southerly swell. I was pleasantly surprised that the swell was not all that bad at The Steps and my entry was easy. I was even more surprised when the visibility at the surface was 10 to 15 metres. My pleasure was short lived as the visibility dropped to 5 metres at the sand line and there was quite a bit of surge.

As it was an outgoing tide I swam towards The Monument. I came across a weedy seadragon on the sand almost immediately. It was one I'd seen before over a year ago in the same area. It has a growth on the right side of its face. I don't believe that was there last time I saw it.

I continued on to The Monument. The visibility got progressively worse the closer I got to The Monument. By the time I got to the rock where "Rosie" now lives it was down to less than 3 metres. The outgoing current was quite strong, too. I found "Rosie" on her new rock. I was glad she didn't move again after the rough weather.

I went past "Rosie" by 20 metres or so but it was tough swimming against the current. I tried to find the two Nembrotha but the poor visibility did not make it easy. A school of striped catfish drifted past me. I think they wanted to check me out but the current was too strong.

I turned and headed back to The Steps. It was much easier going back with the current. I checked "Rosie" out on the way back.

I kept to the reef away from the sand line on the way back and only hit the sand when I was closer to the sand. Here I found another weedy seadragon. This was another I last saw over a year ago. While I was photographing the weedy a pipefish drifted past. I followed it for 20-30 metres before it eventually settled and I was able to take some photographs of it. The surge made it difficult to get any good photos.

I continued on to The Steps, did my safety stop and exited. The exit was clean and easy.

Seas

Surgy

Visibility

2 to 5 metres

Duration

77 minutes

Maximum depth

12.9 m

Average depth

10.3 m

Water temperature

17.2°C

Dive Profile from Citizen Hyper Aqualand

Tides at Botany Bay AEST

Note that tides at dive site may vary from above location.

Low

1:23am

0.33m

High

7:23am

1.60m

Low

1:21pm

0.36m

High

7:46pm

1.94m

Camera gear

Camera

Nikon D300

Lens

Nikon AF Micro-Nikkor 60mm f/2.8D

Housing

Ikelite 6812.3

Lens port

Ikelite Flat Port 5502.41

Strobe

2 x Ikelite SubStrobe DS161

Photographs

Depth information, where present, indicates the depth of the camera when the photograph was taken and can be used to approximate the depth of the subject.

Weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus. Note growth on face.10.2 m.

Weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus. 10.4 m.

Female pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Rosie"). 11.1 m.

Wide-bodied pipefish, Stigmatophora nigra. 11.4 m.

Wide-bodied pipefish, Stigmatophora nigra. 10.4 m.

Wide-bodied pipefish, Stigmatophora nigra. 10.5 m.